


If I Could Fall into the Sky

by ProfoundPixel



Category: Terminator (Movies), Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Minor Violence, Slow Burn, dark fate spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-01-08 02:40:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21228434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProfoundPixel/pseuds/ProfoundPixel
Summary: When Grace's squad received news that Legion was sending a terminator into the past to take out their commander, she had been the first to volunteer. She had to protect Dani. For professional and personal reasons. Perhaps travelling back in time would give her the opportunity to get closer to her commander.Major Spoilers for the film! Don't read if you haven't seen it yet! Focusses and expands on the events of the movie from Grace's perspective. And how they are totally crushing on each other! Slow build!





	1. First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> I had to process all the things left unsaid in the movie. This is subtext heaven. What follows is what I believe was going on in Grace's head throughout the film and hopefully beyond. Enjoy! 
> 
> FYI I had to paraphrase here and there because I can't remember every line they said. Just another reason to go watch it again!

Grace made it to the car factory just in time to gun down the Rev-9, which was not Dani’s father. She had to get Dani out of here and someplace safe if they wanted to have any chance of surviving. 

“Come with me if you don’t want to die in the next 30 seconds.” Grace said as she tried to get Dani and her brother to move. The terminator was already recovering.

Dani looked stunned, still in shock, seeing her father getting shot to pieces. Grace did regret that Dani’s first impression of her would be her shooting her father, but she hoped even this past Dani would have the same common sense as her future self. 

They managed to escape the factory in a truck. The Rev-9 in hot pursuit in a bulldozer. As they raced through traffic, Grace tried to explain: “You’re my mission Dani, I have to keep you alive.”

The Terminator didn’t give her much time to say more, but Dani seemed to trust her. That was enough for now. Time to fight this stubborn pursuer, she could jump in the back of the truck and take him out. Though, who would have thought that this Dani didn’t know how to drive? It was hard to imagine her as anything but the confident, talented commander from the future. The one who had taught Grace everything she knows. Luckily her brother was surprisingly useful and took over the wheel. It’s a shame he wasn’t around in the future, Grace thought, he would have made a good soldier. 

It turned out even with Grace meddling with the past, Dani’s brother wouldn’t make it. Grace wished she could have done more to save Dani the pain of losing everyone in one day. She knew how much it hurt. However, there was no time to grief now. She pulled Dani from the car just in time, shielding her with her body, before the Rev-9 shred the vehicle to pieces. 

Then some unexpected help showed up, an older woman, ready to fight. She knew what she was doing. She fired a bazooka at the monster like no big deal, throwing it over the freeway bridge and finishing it off with a casual grenade toss. 

“I’ll be back.” she said.

Well, Grace wasn’t going to wait for that. She pushed Dani along, stole the woman's car and drove off. They had to put as much distance between them and the Terminator as possible because it certainly wasn’t dead. 

As Grace drove, her vision started to blur, she felt nauseous and dizzy.

“Water” she begged.

Dani was angry. She wanted to go home and check on her father. Grace was starting to go into shock.

“What’s happening to you?” Dani asked as she felt Grace’s arm. “You’re burning up!” she said. 

“I’m going to crash. My body wasn’t designed for long confrontations. If you can’t kill it in the first five minutes, you're dead. I need meds, but we have to keep going.” Grace explained, before losing consciousness and spiralling the car out of control. 

She came to after a few seconds, with Dani leaning over her trying to keep the car on the road. Grace regained control and pulled over. Dani got out of the car.

_“Shit!”_ Grace thought, she couldn’t lose her.

She mustered all her strength to go after her. She had to lean on the car to stay upright and begged Dani not to go. There was no family left for her to return to and the police couldn't save her. Dani turned around and saw her struggling. To Grace’s surprise, she came back, helped her into the back seat and got into the driver's seat herself. 

“You don’t know how to drive.” Grace said. 

“I’ll figure it out” Dani replied with determination as she turned the key in the ignition.

Was this her Dani shining through? A good leader had to be a bit stubborn. Grace smirked and stared at Dani from where she lay in the back seat. Dani drove the car, clumsily at first, but then quickly getting the hang of it. There she was, taking care of Grace again, even though it was meant to be her turn this time. When her squad received news that Legion was sending a terminator into the past to take out their commander, Grace had been the first to volunteer. She had to protect her. 

They stopped at a pharmacy. Grace remembered listing a bunch of medication. The miracle cocktail that would keep her alive. She didn’t remember much after until she woke up in a hotel room with the same angry, tough woman from earlier that day standing next to her bed pointing a gun to her face. Grace leapt out of bed and cornered the woman against the wall. Her strength was back.

“Who are you?” She questioned. Something about this woman was special.

“Sarah Connor”, she introduced herself, “I kill every fucking machine that travels back here from the future.” 

How did she know so much about the future, Grace wondered. Then she heard Dani banging on the door. Sarah had locked her out. Grace carefully backed away from the woman, freeing her from the wall and then rushed for the door, unlocking it for Dani, who stormed in. 

“You locked me out!” she said in frustration. 

Grace put herself between Dani and Sarah. This woman may know a lot about the future, but that doesn’t mean she can be trusted. Not yet. 

Now it was Sarah’s turn to question her, “What are you anyway? You’re more advanced than any of the others. Almost human.” 

Dani stayed behind her even when she was accused of being a killing machine. 

“I am human. Just enhanced. Faster, stronger, which means I could kill you in a second if you piss me off. So don't piss me off.” Grace said.

Dani seemed to lean in closer to her, whether for more protection or so she could stop Grace if she followed through with her threat, Grace didn’t know, but she liked having Dani close.

“Let me guess; you were sent back to protect her because the future of humanity depends on her?” Sarah assumed correctly. 

“Yes,” Grace said. “Now it’s your turn. How do you know about the machines?" she asked.

“I was Dani twenty years ago.” Sarah looked at Dani. A hint of pity in her eyes. Pity and pain. “I stopped Skynet and changed the future. I saved three billion people.” 

Grace understood now. “This isn’t ‘Skynet’ or whatever." she clarified. "Two years from now, they invent a superintelligence designed to keep us safe. Instead, it turns against humanity and destroys us all in three days. We call it ‘Legion’.” she explained.

“Those fuckers did it again. They never learn.” Sarah said in frustration.

Well Legion or Skynet, it didn’t matter. Grace’s mission stayed the same. Keep Dani safe until it was time for her to become their commander and save them all, but Dani wasn’t ready to hear that. She’d been through enough for the day. For now, they should focus on keeping her alive. Even if that meant smuggling Dani across the US border and finding the mystery person texting Sarah Connor with impossible information from the future... on her potato chip phone.


	2. Casual Touches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewatched it and it is still the best! The number of times these two are touching each other throughout the film... I wish we could see all the footage they didn't use as well. Anyway, enjoy this next chapter.

Grace, Dani and Sarah clambered onto the roof of a packed train headed for the US border. Dani’s uncle would hopefully smuggle them across. Along the way Sarah shared her story, she was the mother of the future leader of the resistance, hunted down by Skynet for her womb, and now the same thing was happening to Dani. Well, not quite Grace thought, but she couldn’t tell Dani yet although Dani looked quite terrified and surprised. Thinking about it, future Dani never mentioned having a boyfriend, and current Dani had grieved for her family, but not a partner.

As the train sped through Mexico, the sun went down, and it got significantly colder. People huddled up together to keep warm. Dani inched closer to Grace until she eventually fell asleep on her shoulder. Grace smiled and wrapped an arm around her back. If Sarah threw her a curious look, she didn't care. She was keeping her safe. Sarah didn't need to know how often Grace had imagined doing just this with her commander in the future. Holding her close, protecting her, but Dani was more distant in the future. Too busy keeping everyone alive. Instead, Grace had pined from afar, and wherever her commander went, she was close behind.

From the last train stop, they hitched a ride in the back of a truck to Dani’s uncle’s house. It was still early in the morning, and Dani rested her head in Grace’s lap. She looked melancholic, no doubt thinking about the family she lost and the crazy future lying ahead of her. It showed how strong Dani was, Grace thought, that the Latina was still willing to go along with this insane plan without question. She gently rubbed Dani’s shoulder. Any support she could give her to show Dani wasn’t alone. Sarah noticed but didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned away, scanning her surroundings. 

Dani’s hand found the tear in Grace’s jeans, and subconsciously she started to trace the scar line from Grace’s augmentation. The touch raised goosebumps on her skin.

“Is everyone augmented in the future?” Dani asked.

“No,” Grace said, “I volunteered.”.

“Why?” Dani questioned.

“To keep you safe.” Grace replied, ”To keep everyone safe.” she added after a pause.

“You volunteered to come back in time to save me?” Dani inferred.

“Yes.” Grace said.

Dani leaned up just enough to face Grace. ”I never thanked you for saving me”.

"Don’t thank me yet.” Grace replied.

Dani rested her head back on Grace’s hip and gave her a light hug. “I’m glad you’re here.” she said, ignoring Grace’s pessimism. 

\--

They got a few weird looks when they arrived at Dani’s uncle’s place. Who were these weird gringas with Dani? Where they trouble? Dani tried to explain a machine was trying to kill them. Grace thought a demonstration might be more straightforward and cut a fly in half with her knife. 

“Grace is part machine too.” Dani explained. 

The augmented human was a little bummed Dani wasn’t more impressed, but her uncle didn’t have any more questions, and soon they were on their way to his secret passage underneath the US border wall. 

For a while, as they were walking, Dani spoke with her uncle. While Grace took the lead at the front of the walking party, scanning the hills ahead for any trouble. Sarah and the other guide walked carefully behind her. Then Dani joined her at the front of the group. Talking to her uncle seemed to have lifted her spirit somewhat.

“How much can you see with your augmented eyes?” Dani asked.

“Practically everything. I have night vision, X-ray vision, I can see heat waves.” Grace said as she turned to Dani, "I have better hearing too.".

Dani blushed and looked away. Did Grace detect a slight rise in her heartbeat?

“That’s useful.” The Latina responded. “I’m sure you’d never use that to spy on people, right?” she questioned.

“Why? Have you got something to hide?” Grace teased, which earned her a slap on the shoulder from Dani, followed by her linking their arms together.

“It’s nice not to have to carry you for once. You’re very heavy, you know.” Dani retorted.

This moment reminded Grace of the banter they would have in the future during the rare occasions they had some downtime. Dani had always been a touchy person. Clearly, that hadn’t changed. Or wouldn’t change rather. This time travel stuff was messing with Grace’s head. For the first time, they were also roughly the same age. Could this Dani feel the same way about Grace as she felt for her commander? And was this Dani her commander? The butterflies in her stomach certainly behaved the same way every time Dani casually touched her or smiled at her. What a pathetic super soldier she was, still pining over her crush, while she should be focused on keeping her alive instead. Then Grace heard it, a subtle buzzing from a drone in the sky. She pushed Dani behind her and told everyone to hide. The terminator was looking for them.


	3. A World Worth Living In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope it isn't too cheesy! I'd love to hear your thoughts and thank you for the kudos so far!

As soon as Grace climbed out of the smuggling tunnel, she knew they were screwed.

"Oh shit!" she said as she saw a line of human heat sources waiting for them on the other side. Blinding lights snapped on.

"Freeze!" the border patrol agents shouted, "Put your weapons down!".

Grace and Sarah were ready to run in guns blazing, but Dani surrendered. Raising her hands above her head.

"Dani, no!" Grace yelled out.

Dani looked back at her. "I'm not letting you get killed for me." she said.

Grace lowered her weapon. They had missed their moment to attack.

She pleaded with Sarah, "If they separate us, please get her out of here.".

The border patrol agents ran towards them, and seconds later, tackled Dani to the ground. They zip-tied everyone's hands behind their backs. Not that this would stop Grace, but she would play along for now. As they were guided towards the border patrol vans, Grace heard it again, the same drone buzzing above their heads. It was going to fire! The Terminator wasn't wasting any chances to take Dani out. Grace broke free from her restraints and ran towards Dani, ignoring all the surprised agents trying to stop her.

"Dani, watch out!" she tried to warn her.

She got to Dani just in time to push her out of the impact zone. Then the missile hit. There was a massive explosion, and Grace went flying through the air. This was going to hurt. She landed hard and got the wind knocked out of her. In the distance, she heard Dani shouting her name, but everything in front of Grace faded to black.

"Grace!" Dani cried out desperately.

\--

When Grace woke up, she was handcuffed to a bed in a bright white room. A soldier was standing next to her, and she heard two doctors talking to each other nearby from inside an observation room. She snapped her hands free from the handcuffs and faked a convulsion. That should throw them off. The soldier moved closer to check on her. She caught him off guard with an uppercut and knocked him out. Next, she went for the doctors. They looked shocked. On their screen was an x-ray of Grace's body. Full of metal.

"Were you looking at my private parts?" she challenged. Before knocking out the first doctor. "Where do they keep the prisoners?" she urged from the second doctor. She had to find Dani as quickly as possible. The Terminator would be looking for her as well.

"They're not prisoners, they're detainees." the prison doctor stuttered. Grace looked at her in disbelief. Really, lady? Grace had no patience for bullshit. "They're in the south wing" the doctor surrendered as she backed away from the tall blonde. Grace knocked her out too.

"Thank you." she said afterwards. That's all she needed to know.

She stole the male doctor's clothes, they were closer to her size and before she walked out of the observation room, she had a final look at her x-rays. She deleted them. The augmentation had been an arduous and painful process. One she didn't have fond memories of, but it had all been worth it to make her strong enough to protect the people she cared about.

She found her meds in the next room. She kept one and injected the other. It would be a well-needed boost for what was about to come.

\--

Grace instantly saw the Terminator when she arrived at the cell blocks. She had to find Dani quickly. She pulled the fire alarm and leapt down the stairs as a shortcut to the cells. While looking for Dani, she opened every cell door on her way, releasing all the prisoners. The chaos would hopefully slow down the Terminator and buy them a few seconds to escape.

"Dani!" Grace shouted as she scanned the detainees for a familiar face. After three cells, she found her.

"Over here, Grace!" Dani shouted as Grace broke the cell door lock with her bare hands.

Everyone rushed out, and Dani ran into her arms, holding her face in her hands and looking into her eyes.

"Are you ok?" Dani asked as she patted down Grace's arms looking for injuries.

"We have to go quickly! He's here!" Grace said as she pulled Dani along towards the exit.

They rushed outside, and Grace spotted a helicopter. Finally, luck was on their side. She lifted Dani into the chopper and climbed into the pilot seat herself.

"Wait, there's Sarah!" Dani shouted as she looked back and saw the badass woman running out of the facility, followed closely by the Terminator.

"There's no time!" Grace argued, but Dani got back out of the helicopter and started shooting the Terminator. Slowing him down just enough for Sarah to reach the chopper and for all of them to make a narrow escape.

Grace was pissed off. "You have to understand something." she said to Dani in a calm tone. Hoping her voice wouldn't betray how panicked she felt seeing Dani jump out of her reach and risking her life. "You can't do things like that. If you die, everybody dies." Grace reminded her.

Dani looked offended and ready to argue, but Sarah backed her up, "She's right." she said to Dani.

They flew the rest of the way in silence. Hopefully, it would take a while for the Terminator to find out where they went. Sarah instructed them to stop a klick short of their destination. They would walk the rest of the way to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Grace agreed it was a good plan. Otherwise, she wouldn't have let Sarah boss her around.

As they walked through the trees towards their coordinates, Dani pulled Grace aside. "I'm sorry about earlier." she apologised. "I know I risked our lives out there, but I couldn't leave Sarah behind."

It's what made Dani who she was Grace thought, but it was also terrifying to deal with. Every time Dani put her life on the line, Grace's heart stopped. Grace would sacrifice her life for Dani in a heartbeat, but she couldn't bear the thought of losing Dani. It wasn't even about the consequences for the rest of humanity. Perhaps a new commander would be able to take her place and save the world. Sarah had changed their fate once already. But, Grace's world would collapse without Dani in it. Without her, it wouldn't be a world worth living in.

"I know it's who you are, Dani." Grace replied, "but I was sent back here to protect you. Please let me keep you safe." she pleaded.

Dani hugged her. It was a strong hug with Dani's arms wrapped tightly around Grace. They both lingered into the touch.

"You're my guardian angel, Grace" Dani whispered.


	4. Carl's Draperies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gave our ladies some well needed time to relax before they leave Carl's cabin. And updated the rating to M just in case.

When they arrived at their coordinates, a remote cabin in Texas, Sarah’s worst enemy opened the door. It was the T-800 who murdered her son, also known as Carl from Carl’s Draperies. Sarah almost blasted his head off, but Grace stopped her. They needed his help or at the very least information. Then Sarah could kill him.

Sarah walked off to compose herself. Dani wanted to go after her and Grace agreed. Dani would do what she wanted, but Grace appreciated that she asked. They had reached an understanding in terms of her safety and Grace’s role to protect her. Plus, it was probably better Grace had a chat with this Carl first to make sure he could be trusted.

Grace turned her attention back to the Terminator and measured him up. ”You’re one of them?” she asked.

The original Terminator nodded. ”May I ask what you are?” he replied.

”No.” Grace replied. She wasn’t here to make friends.

They went inside, and he offered her a beer. The cabin was charming and homely. Carl was a welcoming host. It gave Grace a chill that you’d never guess he wasn’t human.

“I have no intention to hurt Dani,” Carl said as he cut a lime into slices, “or Sarah.” he added.

“Good to know.” Grace replied.

“You are not a machine.” Carl observed. “Metal maybe, but not a machine. You show too much emotion and fear.” he explained.

“I could be faking it.” Grace countered.

“I am a Terminator designed to infiltrate. I have tried to “fake it” for many years.” he said, raising his hands to make air quotes. “No, you care for both of them. A lot.”

Just then, Dani and Sarah entered the cabin. Grace welcomed them in awkwardly. She hoped they hadn’t overheard the end of that conversation.

Carl passed round the beers, adding a lime on top each one. Grace and Dani accepted. Sarah refused. “I’m not here to play games.” she said, frustrated. Carl didn’t push it.

“After I completed my mission, I didn’t receive new orders. Then I met Alicia and her son. She was in an abusive relationship and needed help. Now I take care of them. They are my family.” Carl opened up.

“Are you saying you developed a conscience?” Sarah growled.

“Something like it.” Carl agreed. “Helping Alicia gave me purpose.”

“So why the texts? Dani butted in.

“There are measurable shockwaves before a time discrepancy takes place...” Carl began to explain.

“That’s how not why.” Sarah snapped.

“To give you purpose, Sarah.” Carl said.

Sarah had enough; she shot him blank in the chest three times before Grace could stop her. “Cut the bullshit!” she shouted. “You killed John!”

Carl didn’t move or flinch. “This is going to be difficult to explain to Alicia.” he stated monotonously. Now with three bullet holes in his t-shirt.

A car pulled up the driveway. “That will be Alicia. I need to help her with the groceries.” Carl said as he walked towards the front door. He put a shirt on to cover up the bullet holes, then walked outside.

The three women awkwardly waited in the living room. They shared a sense of disbelief at the absurd situation they found themselves in. Sarah quickly hid her gun in the back of her pants as Alicia and her son walked in to greet them.

“You must be Carl’s friends. Welcome to our home.” Alicia said. “I see Carl offered you a drink, that’s good. I’m sure he told you that you're welcome to stay as long as you like. Mi casa es su casa.” she continued. “Please get comfortable, sit down.” she finally said when none of them replied.

For a second none of them moved, each of them waiting and anticipating what they would do until Dani smiled at Alicia and walked up to the sofa — awkwardly sitting down in the middle. “Thank you very much, Ms Alicia.” she said. She looked at Grace and eyed the spot next to here.

Grace got the message and joined her on the sofa. “Yes, that’s very kind of you.” Grace added.

Sarah turned to Carl, who had just finished bringing in the groceries. “On second thought, I’ll have that beer after all.” she said.

The hatches were buried for now.

\--

They moved outside to discuss their action plan out of earshot.

“We create a kill box. Then we use Dani as bait and lure the bastard in.” Sarah said, confidently.

Every alarm bell started ringing in Grace’s head. Use Dani as bait? Were they out of their mind? The thought made her feel physically sick. “No, no way! We are not using Dani as bait. It’s too dangerous.” she said.

“What else, Grace? We can’t keep running forever.” Dani countered.

“I will hide you down the bottom of a mine shaft if I have to.” Grace said stubbornly.

Dani got up frustrated, “No! I will not hide at the bottom of a mine shaft.” she said stubbornly.

Grace felt chastised. Dani’s commander side was shining through, and it was very intimidating.

“If we make the uh..” Dani tried to think of the word.

“Kill box” Sarah supplied.

“If we make the kill box, how will we know that machine will show up?” Dani asked Sarah.

“Oh, it will show and then we give it everything we’ve got.” Sarah ensured her.

“Our only tactical advantage is that the Terminator’s sole focus is its mission. We should use that as an opportunity.” Carl agreed.

“Ok, what weapons?” Grace gave in. If this is what Dani wanted, Grace will follow.

It turned out Carl had plenty of weapons, enough to survive an apocalypse. They decided they would rest up tonight. Tomorrow they would start with weapon training to give Dani the best chance of surviving as bait.

\--  
After a nice dinner prepared by Carl, they were all hanging out in the cosy living room. They stuck to small talk for Carl’s families sake and heard way too many stories about the Ex-Terminator’s drapery business. What else could they talk about though? Sarah’s life had never been normal. Grace worried she’d slip up on her current time zone facts and Dani wouldn’t be able to share any stories about her life or family without bursting into tears. Draperies it was.

A short while later, Alice and her son decided to call it a night. Perhaps they sensed the awkwardness in the room.

“A Terminator, an Augment, and the mother of the resistance share a drink. What happens next?” Sarah spoke up, “It’s like I’m part of a bad joke.” she complained.

“They arm wrestle.” Grace replied.

Sarah didn’t expect that answer based on the confused look she gave her.

Grace laughed, “I want to know who’s stronger.”. She turned to Carl, “Do you accept my challenge?”.

He smiled, got onto his knees next to the living room table and prepared his arm. "Let’s do it.” he said.

Grace walked over to the other side of the table and matched his pose, connecting their hands.

Dani sat more upright on the sofa to see the action.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Have fun kids. I’m going to bed to get my beauty sleep.” she said as she walked out of the room.

"Ready?” Grace said once Sarah left the room. He nodded, and both of them started to push. They strained their arms, but neither of them got the upper hand. Grace grunted as she pushed harder, but she couldn’t get him to move.

“It appears we are matched.” Carl said.

Grace gave one last push, then gave up. "I suppose it’s a tie.” she agreed.

“My turn!” Dani said as she walked over to Carl to take his spot.

Grace laughed, “Really, Dani?”

Dani sat down next to the table and offered her hand to Grace.

“Ok, you’re going to lose, but fine.” Grace humoured her. They’d all had a few beers already so what the hell. Grace took Dani’s hand.

Dani started to push, and Grace kept her arm straight on the table.

“Grace, you’re not even trying!” Dani grumbled.

Grace let her arm fall to the table. “Oh look, you won!” she said casually.

Dani slapped her on the shoulder. "You let me win, gringa. Again!” she demanded.

Carl subtly left the room.

Grace and Dani got back in position for a rematch. This time Grace beat Dani in two seconds.

“No fair.” Dani moaned.

Grace released Dani. “Maybe don’t take on an augmented human if you want to win.” she joked as she massaged her arms and rolled her shoulders.

“You’re so toned.” Dani observed. She reached out across the table and squeezed Grace’s arm. Her hand lingered as her eyes roamed across Grace’s body from her arms to her black tank top to her abs which were visible underneath the fabric.

Grace’s stomach was doing somersaults as the tension in the room grew thick.

“Grace...” Dani whispered as she leaned across the table. Grace leaned in, and Dani closed the distance between them, kissing her. It was a slow kiss at first, their lips touching and moving in unison. Grace followed Dani’s lead. Then she felt Dani’s tongue brush against her lips and opened her mouth, deepening their kiss until Dani pulled away to breathe.

"Grace, I want to be brave tonight.” Dani said as she looked into her eyes, quietly asking for permission to move things further.

"Dani...” grace mumbled.

Dani climbed across the table and pulled Grace into a deep kiss, moving into her lap and letting her hands roam across Grace’s stomach, her back, her arms and up to her neck into her hair. Grace pulled her closer into her lap. Dani started peppering kisses along her neck and back up to her mouth. Her hands began to pull up Grace’s top, and she broke their kiss to help her take it off.

Then Grace lifted Dani as she stood herself and carried her across the room to the sofa. Dani linked her arms behind Grace’s neck and continued kissing her.

Grace dropped both of them onto the sofa, careful not to crush Dani with her weight. She took a moment to look at the beautiful woman underneath her. Dani took her own t-shirt off as well and threw it across the room, then pulled Grace back down into a kiss. Their legs tangled on the sofa as they found a rhythm, their bodies melding together as they explored each other’s bodies deep into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! That's where we'll leave it for today. I loved the thought of having Grace arm wrestle Carl. I believe Grace would get a bit competitive with a Terminator who isn't trying to kill her. And to show off to Dani of course.


	5. Don't Say Anything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah the morning after... hopefully no regrets.

Grace woke up the next morning, still on the sofa with a naked Dani on top of her. She heard Sarah move around in the other room. She could walk in any moment.

Grace shook Dani awake. "Dani, wake up.”

Dani moaned and hid her face deeper inside the crook of Grace’s neck.

”Sarah is going to walk in on us!” Grace whispered.

With considerable effort and stretching, the Latina finally opened her eyes and sat up. “Morning.” she said, smiling and blushing a little when she realised she was still on top of Grace.

It was quite a view; the first rays of sunlight started to peek through the window and illuminated Dani’s body with a halo of soft light. Her hair was loose, slightly tangled from their lovemaking and she made no effort to cover her nicely shaped breasts. The scene took Grace’s breathe away.

Dani leaned down to kiss her, a soft peck. Then she licked her lips, her eyes darkening as she was about to lean back in for a much deeper kiss, were it not for Sarah cursing and muttering in the other room, something along the lines of 'Ugh my back.' and 'I’m getting too old for this shit.'

Dani shot up, leapt off the sofa and started looking for their clothes. She covered her chest with the first piece she could find, which happened to be Grace’s top. “Ay Dios, Sarah is awake.” she said with a panicked look on her face, now 100% focussed.

“Yes, I know.” Grace replied as she got up as well and plucked Dani’s bra of the sofa.

“What do we do?” Dani asked.

Grace tilted her head, as she said “Bathroom.” and nodded in that general direction. She didn’t bother to cover up her body; she wasn’t shy. However, she still preferred not getting caught by Sarah.

“Yes!” Dani said as she made a beeline for the bathroom door holding a pile of both their clothes. She held the door open for Grace and hurried her along, “C’mon, quickly!”.

Grace spotted a missing sock between the pillows, which she grabbed, before joining her in the bathroom.

The bathroom was cosy and narrow. Grace and Dani bumped into each other multiple times as they got dressed eliciting various exclamations of sorry, combined with awkward laughs.

Grace started to process what happened last night. Had she taken advantage of Dani? There was a lot she hadn’t told Dani about her future yet, especially that she knows her.

“Listen, Dani…” Grace started to apologise, but Dani interrupted her with a finger on her lips.

“Shh, thank you for last night, Grace.” Dani said.

Grace tried to reply, but Dani wouldn’t let her.

“I don't want to hear that you’re supposed to protect me, and this will get in the way or whatever.” she dismissed. “I don’t know what this is or what it means. All I know is that every time you touch me, my heart beats a little faster, and every time you tense your arms, my mouth goes dry.” she continued. “I could die tomorrow, so I don’t care, and I don’t want it to stop.” She replaced the finger on Grace’s lips with a quick peck of her lips and put on a big smile. “Alright, let’s go kick some ass.” she said with a Spanish lilt.

Grace nodded, and a big smile broke out on her face too. Dani made a good point. Grace could also die tomorrow, so what the hell, she would enjoy this. She deserved a bit of happiness.

Dani opened the bathroom door, and Sarah was waiting for them in the living room. She raised an eyebrow when both of them walked out of the tiny bathroom.

“Isn’t it a bit tight for two in there?” Sarah remarked.

“No comment.” Dani replied as she ignored Sarah and strode past her to the kitchen.

Sarah smirked and turned to Grace, “Don’t ask, don’t tell, right soldier?” she smirked.

At that moment, Carl emerged from his room, overhearing the conversation. “Did you have fun last night, ladies?” he asked.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “That’s none of your business, Robocop.” she scoffed.

Carl ignored her and walked into the kitchen. “Who needs coffee?” he asked as he turned on the machine, “I am making some for Alicia.”

Dani moaned, “Yes, please! I need a full thermos.”

Carl wiggled his eyebrows, “long night, ey?”

Grace joined them and leaned against the kitchen counter. “Still none of your business.” she said.

Carl laughed and took four mugs out of the cupboard. He lined them up near the machine.

Sarah approached the counter as well and changed the subject. “So weapon training today? she asked, "We’ll need targets.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got that covered,” Carl replied, “but first, a nice cup of Joe!” he said as he poured coffee into each mug and took Alicia’s to their bedroom.

Grace and Dani smiled at each other. They had survived.


	6. Practice for the Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I’ve been travelling and busy, but still committed to this fic. Hope you’re still loving it too. :)

Grace leaned over Dani, showing her how to hold a rifle. Their arms brushed as she adjusted Dani’s grip. 

“Ok, now hold it against your shoulder and aim.” Grace instructed. 

She moved her hands to Dani’s hips.  


“Widen your stance to balance yourself.” she said.

Dani complied, looking back at Grace to check she was doing it right. 

“That’s good.” Grace smiled, their faces only inches apart.

Dani smiled back at her and they stared at each other just a few seconds too long before Grace stepped back and joined Sarah and Carl at a safe distance.

“Now fire.” she instructed. 

Dani turned her attention back to the rifle and took aim, holding her tongue between her lips as she focussed. She pulled the trigger, and fired multiple shots in rapid succession, all widely missing the mark. 

Grace winced, seeing the result. “Ok, that’s a start.” she said encouraging.

“Let’s cut the crap.” Sarah butted in as she picked up a giant shotgun and passed it to Dani. 

“A Terminator just killed your entire family. What are you going to do?” she challenged Dani. 

Dani blew a massive hole into the target. She turned around with a big smile. “Take that Terminator!” she cheered. 

Grace had to give it to Sarah, it wasn’t refined, but it was efficient. 

“Very nice!” Grace said as she took the shotgun out of Dani’s hand and placed it back on the table. 

“Well done.” Carl congratulated, “But these weapons won’t be enough to kill the Rev-9.” he reminded them. “Our best chance is a high energy weapon to fry his systems.” he said.

“You mean an EMP?” Grace clarified. 

Dani joined them and tried to follow the conversation. She may be clueless about this stuff, but she was keen to learn. 

Grace liked Carl’s idea, “We’ve used similar weapons in the future, but where do we get one here?” she questioned. 

“I know a guy.” Sarah said. 

Grace was pleased. With an EMP, a good kill box location and their little team, their chances of defeating the Rev-9 increased significantly. If they did, maybe they could stop running. 

The group discussed next steps. They decided to leave tonight to collect the EMP. They would take Carl’s van and meet up with Sarah’s army contact in an abandoned warehouse near his military base. 

Everyone split up to prepare for the trip. Carl had to talk to his family. Sarah wanted to clean her weapons and Grace had to prepare a few batches of her medicine. Dani stuck with Grace.

—

Grace claimed the kitchen table. She lined up all her medicine bottles and started grinding painkillers tablets into powder to add to her drug cocktail. Dani kept her company. 

“Have you ever thought about what you would do if Legion were defeated.” Dani asked. 

”Sometimes,” Grace admitted as she swept the powder into her medicine mixture, ”but in the future we mostly think about how to make sure humanity survives at all.” 

Dani gave her a sympathetic look.

“Defeating Legion is nearly impossible, so instead we hide and run. Occasionally we fight back, but only to buy others time to escape.” Grace continued. 

“I’m sorry.” Dani said. 

Grace stared off into space as she thought of the future. She remembered future Dani’s strategy to stay out of sight and wait for the right moment. If they wanted to defeat Legion, they had to attack the source, but first they had to find it. Dani would send out small scouting groups of elite soldiers to find the source, including Grace. It was on one of those trips they had discovered Legion’s plans to travel back in time to kill Dani and Grace had volunteered to travel back in time to save her. They lost many soldiers trying to collect all the materials they needed to build their own time machine. In a way, Grace was the lucky one, because she was still alive. 

“Sometimes I dream of a sanctuary.” she said as she turned back to Dani. ”A place where Legion can't find us and nobody has to die.” Grace looked around the cabin. “A bit like this place, where you could almost forget there’s a terminator out there trying to kill us.” 

This made Dani smile, she paused for a second before asking Grace a question she’d clearly been holding back a while, “Grace, if we defeat the Rev-9 tomorrow, will you go back to the future?”

Grace thought about her answer for a second. “The truth is that it’s impossible to travel back to the future. The technology simply doesn’t exist yet.” Grace started. 

“Oh, I see. So you’re stuck here? I’m sorry, Grace.” Dani said as she reached out for her hand and rubbed her thumb over the back of Grace’s hand to console her. 

“I’ve made peace with it. I knew that leaving meant saying goodbye to the people and the future I know, because even if I reach that same year, they will never be the same people. It won’t be the same future, but that’s a good thing, because I know you’ll make it a better future for them.” Grace explained. 

“We’ll make it a better future together.” Dani replied, then hesitated, “If you want to stay with me after this, of course. I would understand if you’d like to see your family and make sure they’re safe too.” she rambled. 

Grace smiled and interlocked her fingers with Dani’s. The Latina had no idea, but future Dani, and now this Dani are her family. “Dani, in the future, you’re…” she stopped. 

She’d almost slipped up and told Dani she knew her. She wished she could tell Dani the truth, but future Dani had been very insistent that her old self wouldn’t be able to handle it and Grace had no idea how current Dani would handle it. She didn’t want anything to get in the way of her protecting her. Maybe she would tell Dani after they defeated the Rev-9 because Grace felt terrible keeping this from her. 

“I’m what, Grace?” Dani encouraged her to continue. 

“You’re our hero.” Grace quickly said instead. “I’d be proud to stay by your side.”

Dani beamed and threw her arms around her in a big hug, knocking over multiple medicine bottles in the process. “I’m so happy you said that.” she whispered into Grace’s neck. “You’re all I have left now.” 

Grace returned the hug. “I will be by your side until the very end, Dani.” Grace assured her. 

Dani leaned back to look at her, then down to her lips and back to her, quietly asking for permission as she leaned in for a kiss. Grace smiled and closed the distance between them. 

If their future was going to be like this, she could get used to it very quickly, Grace thought.


	7. Confessions

The time had come to leave their little safe haven in the woods. They had quite a drive ahead of them to pick up the EMP. The kill box plan had been set in motion. 

The women worked together to load all their weapons into Carl’s van, a bunch of automatic rifles and Dani’s small bazooka, while Carl said a final goodbye to his family on the driveway. It was best Alicia and her son didn’t stay in the cabin alone, it was likely the Rev-9 would eventually find this place.

Grace was starting to like Carl. He knew what was wise to keep his family safe even if it meant he might never see them again. He wasn’t affected by emotions. Sometimes Grace wished she could be more like him, able to make the hard calls without letting her feelings get in the way. If it were up to Grace, they would have kept running forever, because she would never put Dani at risk, even if the odds were good. Instead, Dani had been the one who ordered her to go ahead with the kill box plan. Dani was starting to act like a commander more and more every day. 

After a final hug, Carl’s family left, and the terminator walked up to the van. Grace was hiding smaller guns near the driver seat, but she overheard Dani asking what Carl said to his wife. 

“I told her the day I warned her might come, has come. My past has caught up with me, and I will not be back.” he said. 

“Do you love them?” Dani asked. 

“Not the way a human could. I used to think that was a strength, but now I know it’s a weakness.” he replied honestly. 

This caught Grace by surprise; he wanted to be human. 

A few moments later, Dani joined Grace at the front of the car, giving her a sad smile. 

“So many families torn apart.” she said solemnly.

Grace held out her hand, inviting Dani to take it and pulled her into a hug. The shorter girl’s head rested against her chest.

“It’s not your fault.” she whispered into Dani’s hair as she stroked her back and held her close.

Their moment was interrupted by Sarah snarling at Carl from the back of the van, “When this is all over, and Dani is safe, I will kill you.”.

Dani pulled away from the hug, “I think it’s time to go before those two kill each other.” she said.

“You can’t blame Sarah. Carl’s a machine, and he killed her son.” Grace remarked.

“I know, but I feel bad for him.” Dani replied. 

Grace understood, she felt it too.

“Maybe I have a soft spot for machines.” Dani joked as she made an undeniable effort to check out Grace, giving her a once over from top to bottom. 

Grace knew Dani was being silly, but it still made her blush a little. Then she realised two could play this game. She opened the passenger seat door for Dani, making sure to flex her biceps as she did to show off her toned arms. 

It worked. Dani looked very bothered as she brushed past Grace to get in the van, the whole time not being able to keep her eyes off the blonde’s arms. Grace closed the door and winked at her before walking to the other side of the van and getting in the driver’s seat. Sarah and Carl got in the back. 

“Alright, blondie, drive.” Sarah ordered, “The sooner we get this shit over with, the better.” 

Carl didn’t say anything. He wasn’t his usual cheery self. He may not feel things like a human, but he seemed affected none the less. 

— 

Carl had cheered up significantly once they got to the warehouse. After a thorough sweep of their environment, he ended up leaning against the passenger door telling Dani all about drapes. 

“This customer wanted solid drapes for a child’s bedroom. I said, don’t do it. You need flowers or balloons, or…” he recounted. 

Grace zoned out and checked on Sarah. “Hey, you ok?” She asked as she tried to get the grumpy woman’s attention. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Sarah sighed. 

Sarah looked like she’d lost her will to live listening to a Terminator talking about decorating. Grace didn’t push it. 

Dani was forced to keep listening to Carl, but she’d always been a good listener. She genuinely cared about what people had to say and always showed interest in their lives. 

Eventually, they were all saved from Carl’s stories, when Major Dean showed up in a rusty inconspicuous car. 

Sarah leapt out of the car to greet him. “Major Dean, a pleasure to see you.” She welcomed him as he got out of the car, holding a metal suitcase. 

“It’s never a pleasure to see you, Sarah” he grumbled. 

Clearly, he was very well acquainted with her. 

“Did you bring my birthday present?” Sarah asked. 

The major lifted the suitcase he was holding and opened it to show two EMP devices securely locked inside. 

“What’s the range against a class 4 armoured target?” Carl asked. 

“10 feet.” The major replied. He looked at Sarah as he raised an eyebrow. “Bodyguard?”

“I do drapes.” Carl answered for himself. 

“He’s part of my team.” Sarah said, “And if he knew what was good for him, he’d shut up.” she reprimanded Carl. 

Grace interrupted them when She heard a suspicious helicopter in the distance. “Major, which choppers fly out from your base?” she asked. 

“Black Hawks.” he said, tilting his head as he wondered why she asked. 

This chopper wasn’t a Black Hawk! 

Carl heard it too. “He’s here!” he said as he readied his weapon and shielded Sarah. 

Seconds later the chopper flew into the hangar and bullets started raining down on them. Grace rushed to the driver’s seat of their van as everyone scrambled inside. Unfortunately, the Major got hit in the process, but Sarah pulled him into the van. 

“We’re all in, go!” Sarah shouted. 

Grace put her foot down on the gas. 

“Head to the army base!” the major moaned between breathes, “I will give you safe passage, and we’ll try to hold them off for you as long as we can.” 

Grace focussed on getting them out of there, bashing into stuff at full speed as she turned the van and drove out of the hanger. Couldn’t this van go any faster? The Rev-9 was catching up, chasing them. Carl fire at him, aiming at his head, hoping it would slow the machine down. Luckily, the Rev-9 was so focused on Dani it didn’t spot and old fence, discarded on the side of the road. He flew right into it, tangling up the helicopter’s rotor. 

“That won’t slow him down for long!” Grace shouted as she looked back at the tangled chopper. 

She put as much distance between them and the Rev-9 as possible, and they reached the army base in no time. Soldiers were shouting left and right in confusion at the intruders. 

“Can you fly that plane?” Carl asked Grace as he pointed at a giant airbus parked on the runway. 

“Of course!” Grace shouted. This plane was basic compared to their future shit. 

She drove the van into the cargo bay of the parked plane without slowing down. Soldiers leapt out of the way left and right. 

The major clambered out of the van, leaning heavily on Sarah’s shoulder, as he shouted, “Stand down! They’re contractors on a special assignment. They have my permission to take this aircraft.”. Then he turned to Sarah, and said, “We won’t be able to stop him for long. Take the plane and get out of here. It’s loaded with a humvee with parachutes. I’ll send a fighter plane escort to protect you as well.”

The soldiers left, and Carl pushed the remaining cargo out of the hold so they could close the cargo bay door. 

He spotted the Rev-9’s chopper in the distance. “We’ve been reacquired!” he warned them. 

Grace rushed to the cockpit and wasted no time getting them into the air. She heard a struggle in the back, but she kept flying. She trusted Carl and Sarah to look out for Dani.

Wait, was that Carl’s van falling to the ground? Those three were recoursful; Grace thought as she shook her head and pushed the plane to go just a little bit faster. She wouldn’t be surprised if that were Sarah’s idea.

She couldn’t hear anymore struggle. It looked like they got away for now. A few minutes later Major Dean’s fighter pilots arrived to escort them, and Grace put the plane in autopilot. 

Dani joined her in the cockpit, standing next to her. “Where are we gonna go now?” she asked Grace. 

Grace stood up to join Dani and let the autopilot do its thing. 

“I’m not sure. We keep flying until we decide on a kill box location where we can use the EMPs” Grace suggested. 

Sarah and Carl also joined them in the cockpit. 

“Bad news.” Sarah said as Carl held the shot up EMP suitcase. The devices inside were shot to pieces, and Grace’s heart sank. 

“Shit! We need a new plan.” Grace said.

“No!” Dani said with determination, “We are not running away.”.

Dani could be so stubborn sometimes. Risks were necessary, but this time they could keep running, they could find a new EMP, but Grace knew from experience Dani wasn’t going to change her mind.

“I’ve seen that look too many times before.” Grace sighed out.

“You know me?” Dani asked as the meaning behind Grace’s word sank in. 

“Yes, Dani, I know you. You’re not the mother of some guy who saves the resistance. You are the resistance.” Grace admitted. 

This wasn’t how she wanted to tell Dani. She’d fucked up; she couldn’t have seen that look before because they’d only known each other for a few days. She got down on her knees, pleading with Dani to be understanding and forgiving. 

“You saved me, you saved all of us and turned us from scavengers into soldiers. First, we survived, then we started fighting back. You’re our commander, Dani.” Grace explained.

“You’re John.” Sarah mumbled.

Dani was frowning, processing a million thoughts. 

Grace continued, “You sent me back to protect you, but you ordered me not to tell you. You said you wouldn’t be able to handle it.” 

“Are we…” Dani started asking, but they were interrupted by a message on the radio.

“This is Bravo, I’m here to refuel you.” a pilot shared over the radio.

One of the plane escort pilots replied, “That’s great, but aren’t you a little early?” 

Early? This wasn’t right! Grace shot up as she shouted, “He’s here!”.

Seconds later, they were under attack. Explanations and apologies would have to wait for now.


	8. Dark Thoughts, Murky Waters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait everyone!

The plane was in free fall and plummeting to the ground. Grace gave up on flying and rushed to the back of the aircraft to join the others instead. Due to their rapid descent, there was no more gravity. When Grace got to the cargo hold Dani, Sarah, and Carl were trying their best to hold on to whatever they could reach to stop themselves from falling down the hold.

Dani was desperately close to losing her grip. 

“Grace, help!” she shouted. 

Grace had to get to her quickly! She looked around for options and decided to let herself fall onto the Humvee close to Dani, it was parked and tied down thoroughly to stay in position during the flight.

“Dani, hold on!” Grace shouted as she tried to reach her. She was too slow, though, and Dani lost her grip. 

“Grace!” she yelled in despair. 

Grace leapt into the air, pushing herself off the car for extra leverage and caught Dani midair. She used her metal weight to pin both of them against the side of the plane and held them down. 

“I’ve got you.” Grace reassured her. 

The augmented soldier hoped Dani wasn’t uncomfortable being this close to her after what she admitted earlier. The blonde didn’t get a chance to learn how Dani felt about the fact that she knew her in the future. There was only one thing Grace was sure of; she would never stop protecting Dani. 

However, this still wasn’t the right time to clear things up. Moments after Grace helped Dani the plane’s roof was ripped open, and the Rev-9 dropped through, taking only a microsecond to scan his environment before making a beeline for Dani. 

They had to get out of here. Carl slowed the Rev-9 down as Grace shielded Dani from any attacks while guiding her towards the Humvee. Sarah got in too and shot the ropes holding the Humvee in place. Next, Carl blew open the cargo bay door, and Grace pushed the Humvee out of the plane. Definitely, one of the craziest escape attempts she’d ever executed.

Now, Grace dangled off the back of the Humvee in midair. She could hear Dani panicking inside. 

“Where’s Grace?” she heard her ask Sarah. 

She could join Dani and Sarah inside, but she felt like she didn’t deserve it. Instead, she pulled herself onto the Humvee’s roof to release the parachutes and stayed outside. She’d taken advantage of Dani by getting close to her and acting on her feelings without telling Dani the whole truth. 

The ground approached rapidly, and the landing was rough and unlucky. The Humvee crash-landed on top of a massive dam and then tipped over the edge. They dangled precariously off the side of the dam; the parachute cords were the only thing keeping them in position. Water rushed down beside them and below was a massive, deep, unnatural lake. To make matters worse, the Rev-9 was hot on their heels. Grace saw only one solution to get out of this situation. She had to cut the parachute cords and send them plummeting into the depths below. 

“Strap in!” she shouted as she made her way to the top of the car to reach the tangled cords. The Rev-9 was getting closer. Now on their side of the dam. Grace looked back at Dani one more time before she cut the ropes. This plan was a last resort, and it was likely she wouldn’t survive a close encounter with the Rev-9, but if it saved Dani, she’d sacrifice herself without a doubt. 

Grace cut the ropes, just as the machine leapt down from the edge to attack them. As Dani and Sarah fell in the Humvee, Grace leapt up to stop the Rev-9. She clung onto him, tried to punch him, tried to distract him from Dani. He didn’t fight back; his red eyes focused solely on tracking the Humvee as it disappeared under the murky water. Seconds later, they too hit the water hard. The impact forced Grace to let go, and the strong currents pulled her in a million directions and away from the Terminator.

Eventually, after what felt like ages, but was only a few seconds, she escaped the currents and hit the bottom of the lake. She’d lost her sense of direction. She was dazed from being pushed around, and she was quickly running out of air. The resistance fighter was surrounded by nothing but darkness. There was no sign of the Rev-9 or the Humvee. Just the deep black waters and very high above her, the glow of moonlight breaking through the surface. Grace tried to swim up, but the surface seemed miles away, and her heavy metal body dragged her down. She started to panic; her lungs began to scream for air. She wasn’t going to make it. 

Then she saw a bright torch beaming through the water, followed a few moments later by a parachute soaring up to the surface. Dani and Sarah! They were ok! 

Grace found a new burst of motivation and focused on her body, her strength and her movements as she swam and swam, ignoring her burning lungs. Finally, she reached the surface, gasping for air. She took a moment to recover and fill her lungs with oxygen. Then she took in her surroundings. She wasn’t too far from the shore, and nearby Dani and Sarah were crawling onto the muddy banks of the lake. 

“Where’s Grace?” the augment heard Dani asking with her advanced hearing.

“I don’t know.” Sarah sighed back, exhausted and beaten up.

Thank god for Sarah, Grace thought. She had kept Dani safe and in one piece. The blonde had distrusted Sarah for most of their trip, but now she had nothing but respect for her. 

Grace waddled through the water towards Dani and Sarah. Now that the rush of the struggle had passed the super-soldier could feel her body giving in to exhaustion. Her arms and legs weight tons and her vision was getting blurry. She needed her meds. She mentally pushed herself to keep going — just a few more steps to get to Dani. 

The Latina instantly spotted her when she got near and helped her out of the water. Now both safely on land, Grace fell to the ground. Dani sat down beside her and pulled her into her lap. The blonde let her head rest on Dani’s arm took comfort in being held.

“You’re ok.” Dani whispered as she gently wiped the mud and blood off Grace’s face. 

“I’m going to crash soon.” Grace admitted. 

Dani shook her head and continued to rub her thumb across Grace’s cheek gently as she reassured her, “You’re gonna be ok; I got you now.”.

Grace looked up at Dani and pleaded, “You can’t stay here. The Rev-9 is still out there, and I will slow you down. You should leave me here...”.

Dani broke off her plea with a kiss, effectively shutting her up. It took Grace a moment to reciprocate, but then she reached out a hand to hold Dani’s face and pull her deeper into the kiss. A subtle tear running down her cheek as they kissed. She was so grateful and relieved that Dani still cared for her.

“I’m not leaving you.” Dani said afterwards with a stubborn look on her face as she pulled Grace even closer into her lap. Grace closed her eyes and took in the warmth of Dani’s body. She used the rhythm of her breathing, and the sound of her heartbeat to ground herself.

“Are you two lovebirds done?” Sarah broke the moment, “We need to get out of here ASAP.”

Sarah was right. Grace tried to get up into a sitting position with Dani’s support.

“Can she walk?” Sarah asked Dani as if the Latina was responsible for Grace; and in a way she was, Grace thought. If Dani needed her to do something, she’d do it. No hesitation. So when Dani asked if she could get up and make it back towards the buildings, Grace did it. She’d do anything for Dani. 


End file.
